A member of my extended family had plans to fly to Florida this week for a brief holiday. Her employer asked her to postpone her plans, and she reluctantly did so. Turns out she made the right call. Authorities found an explosive device in checked luggage for a Florida flight on Monday. Passenger Marek Muffley of Lansford was paged to the security desk but took off before being picked up by the FBI on Monday night.
I know people are irritated by TSA wait times, but I'd think that a 17-minute wait is a small price to save even one life.
Nice job ABE (always a thorough security check there).
ReplyDeleteIt’s amazing that it took 48 hours to hit the national news!
ReplyDeleteSounds like it was a commercial grade m-80 with a crack pipe, lighter fluid, and a lighter. This guy was just plain stupid.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was odd that they simply used the public address system to call the guy to return to security.
ReplyDeleteAs it was a checked bag, I'm not sure what that has to do with TSA checkpoint wait times. Nice job by TSA and their tech at ABE. I can't imagine they were ever going to let the plane fly with a rogue bag checked by someone not boarding the plane. I've sat on delayed planes while the airlines searched the airport for passengers who'd checked a bag and not gotten onto the flight. One time, they made everyone wait on the plane until they removed the rogue bag. Another time, they located the passenger in an airport bar. He was lustily booed when he finally boarded the full plane. He was hammered and didn't care.
ReplyDeleteA few points:
ReplyDelete1) I'm not sure if it's intentional, but this incident really has nothing to do with TSA wait times. The explosive device was found in checked luggage, not on his person.
2) You can find plenty of examples of items found at TSA checkpoints to try to justify the TSA inspections, but this isn't one of them.
3) As to the wait for TSA inspections, I'm not sure where the 17 minute-wait you mention comes from, but people are more likely upset with having to show up two hours before their flight time to make sure they can get though the screening.
4) On the inspections, I think we could do better. TSA has morphed into a huge bureaucracy, and we seem to be operating under many of the same procedures that were put in place right after 9/11. We could probably give agents more discretion as to who gets a more in-depth search, instead of having everyone go through the same procedures. I'm not sure EVERY kid and EVERY grandmother needs to be removing their shoes and getting screened the same as someone that fits the profile of someone looking to do harm.
5) I can only hope that the guy who checked the explosive device in his luggage did receive heavy scrutiny at the TSA checkpoint. Judging by his photo, it doesn't take an experienced agent to think this guy might be a problem.
6) Finally, and perhaps most importantly, who decided the best way to apprehend a possible airline bomber is to page him to the security desk? Had he intended (or been able to) remotely detonate the device, paging him could have had catastrophic consequences. There has to be a better way to segregate a suspect like that and apprehend him without letting him drive away and hope that he goes home for later arrest.
3/2 @ 1:18
ReplyDeleteA few comments to your comments,
4) I don't fly often but believe the elderly (over a certain age) and children (under a certain age) don't have to take their shoes off. If everyone isn't treated the same then you'll bitch that they are profiling. I'm curious what someone looking to do harm actually looks like? I mean besides Chucky, Freddie Krueger, Jason, etc.
5) What makes this guy stand out to you as a potential threat? Is anyone from a low income household a threat? Not wearing a suit? Doesn't have a beach shirt on going to a beach destination? I know they may not look as clean as everyone else.
6) What would you have done there Special Agent? Passed out flyers? Hung wanted signs?
I agree it's good that nothing happened and the guy was ultimately arrested. Hopefully LVIA/TSA has your resume and you'll be taking over security soon.
I have no idea who this guys is, what his intentions were, or what he was thinking, but you, sir, ma'am, they, them, he, she, im, cat, or whatever else you may go by are an idiot and hopefully gets a deeper TSA screening next time you fly due to you appearance.
Regular travelers call TSA "Thousands Standing Around." We increased the federal workforce by 11% by forming the TSA as a union-friendly trade-off to Dems in exchange for the Republican fascist Patriot Act. On 9/11, airport security did nothing wrong. Box cutters were legal on planes. Security surveys since 2001 have regularly shown the folly of TSA, as they fail to detect the majority of weapons. They're not alone. The same high failure rates exist in nearly every major airport across the globe.
ReplyDelete